Determining Habitability: Which exoEarths should we search for life?

Abstract

Within the next few years, the first Earth-mass planets will be discovered around other stars. Some of those worlds will certainly lie within the classical "habitable zone" of their parent stars, and we will quickly move from knowing of no exoEarths to knowing many. For the first time, we will be in a position to carry out a detailed search for the first evidence of life beyond our Solar System. However, such observations will be hugely taxing and time consuming to perform, and it is almost certain that far more potentially habitable worlds will be known than it is possible to study. It is therefore important to catalogue and consider the various effects which make a promising planet more or less suitable for the development of life. In this work, we review the various planetary, dynamical and stellar influences that could influence the habitability of exoEarths. The various influences must be taken in concert when we attempt to decide where to focus our first detailed search for life. While there is no guarantee that any given planet will be inhabited, it is vitally important to ensure that we focus our time and effort on those planets most likely to yield a positive result.

32 pages, 2 figures, 1 table; Accepted to appear in the International Journal of Astrobiology

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Cited by in corpus (44)

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• The Anglo-Australian Planet Search XXIV: The Frequency of Jupiter Analogs
• The Anglo-Australian Planet Search. XXII. Two New Multi-Planet Systems
• The McDonald Observatory Planet Search: New Long-Period Giant Planets, and Two Interacting Jupiters in the HD 155358 System
• The Anglo-Australian Planet Search. XXIII. Two New Jupiter Analogs
• About Exobiology: The Case for Dwarf K Stars
• Correlations between the stellar, planetary and debris components of exoplanet systems observed by $\text{Herschel}$
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• Solar System Physics for Exoplanet Research
• Physical constraints for the evolution of life on exoplanets
• Physical constraints on the likelihood of life on exoplanets
• Two New Long-Period Giant Planets from the McDonald Observatory Planet Search and Two Stars with Long-Period Radial Velocity Signals Related to Stellar Activity Cycles
• Temporal variability of the wind from the star τ Boötis
• Observing Strategies for the Detection of Jupiter Analogs
• Habitability around F-type Stars
• The Fundamental Connections Between the Solar System and Exoplanetary Science
• The Anglo-Australian Planet Search XXV: A Candidate Massive Saturn Analog Orbiting HD 30177
• Giant planet effects on terrestrial planet formation and system architecture
• Jupiter - Friend or Foe? IV: The influence of orbital eccentricity and inclination
• Revised Exoplanet Radii and Habitability Using Gaia Data Release 2
• Quantifying the Influence of Jupiter on the Earth's Orbital Cycles
• Role of stellar physics in regulating the critical steps for life
• A BCool survey of the magnetic fields of planet-hosting solar-type stars
• System Architecture and Planetary Obliquity: Implications for Long-Term Habitability
• Modelling the Inner Debris Disc of HR 8799
• Properties of the single Jovian planet population and the pursuit of Solar system analogues
• Predicting multiple planet stability and habitable zone companions in the TESS era
• Stable habitable zones of single Jovian planet systems
• Advanced Aspects of the Galactic Habitability
• On the Possibility of Habitable Moons in the System of HD 23079: Results from Orbital Stability Studies
• The GALAH Survey: Using Galactic Archaeology to Refine our Knowledge of TESS Target Stars
• Optimal Target Stars in the Search for Life
• Atmospheric studies of habitability in the Gliese 581 system
• The dynamical structure of HR 8799's inner debris disk
• The role of Jupiter in driving Earth's orbital evolution: an update
• The GALAH Survey: Improving our understanding of confirmed and candidate planetary systems with large stellar surveys
• Observations of the D/H ratio in Methane in the atmosphere of Saturn's moon, Titan - where did the Saturnian system form?
• Towards a dynamics-based estimate of the extent of HR 8799's unresolved warm debris belt
• A circularly polarized low-frequency radio burst from the exoplanetary system HD 189733
• The role of Jupiter in driving Earth's orbital evolution
• Winds of Planet Hosting Stars
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• Quantifying Jupiter's influence on the Earth's impact flux: Implications for planetary habitability